


Takes a Little Time, Takes a Lotta Twine (To Get Us Back Together)

by TimTheToaster (tabletoptime)



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, but if you want to wear shipping goggles be my guest, but it stands alone if you want, but pre-Red Robin 26 or ignoring it, i hope this hurts you as much as it hurt me, not meant to be slashy, post-Bruce getting back from being lost time, technically a follow up to Bird is the Word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 04:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21130736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabletoptime/pseuds/TimTheToaster
Summary: Tim was in Gotham.Tim had pretty specifically been avoiding thinking about Dick as much as possible for the last few weeks. For the last year, really. No need to open that can of carnivorous worms.Dick had other plans.





	Takes a Little Time, Takes a Lotta Twine (To Get Us Back Together)

Tim was in Gotham. 

Sometimes he felt like that was all he’d ever really be; in Gotham or out of it.

It had been worse, though, when he hadn’t been. When he had rode past the city limits and Dick had let him. With their parting words like barbed gates closing behind him, Tim hadn’t been sure he would ever be able to come back, even as he knew he couldn’t stay. He had convinced himself it was worth it; his home, his place, his  _ soul _ if he could just  _ find Bruce _ . That last one had become more literal than he would have liked, as things had spiraled.

It had been a rough year. 

Still, he was hitting his stride again, in his swanky new apartment and only gently-used cape. Tim hadn’t really been thinking when he’d taken the Red Robin suit, let alone had any plans to keep it, but he was pretty sure Jason was going to kick his ass over that decision. A little late to back out now, though. In for a penny, and all that.

The day job both helped and was the actual worst. Tim had kind of thought when he was younger he’d end up taking over Drake Industries. When it went under after his mother’s death, behind the grief and horrible realization that things cost money, he had been a little relieved. He supposed it was one of life’s little ironies that he ended up a CEO anyways. He had cried enough lately, this one he would laugh at instead. 

Paperwork still sucked, though.

The real trick to being back home was not running into the frankly ridiculous number of vigilantes in the city. Working abroad had really given Tim some perspective on just how absurd it was to have this many capes in one place. Sometimes he wondered if he should just leave and set up shop somewhere else. He couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. At this point, he had everyone’s territories and general patrol routes mapped out and he worked from there. It helped he knew their idiosyncrasies so well. 

Helena stuck to her beats, and Tim knew she was working on something involving the Falconis, but he would leave her to it until she was closer to making a move. Maybe she’d like a hand. It was a Thursday, which meant Steph would build her patrol around the major party streets in honour of “Thirsty Thursdays” and the ensuing drunken chaos. Batman and Robin would be doing the opposite, hitting the alleys and the docks where the nastier criminals worked. Tim had forwarded the batcomputer some data about a potential delivery of illegal narcotics in the harbour, and Bruce had told him they would handle it.

Something soft lit up in Tim’s chest with the knowledge that Bruce still trusted his intel, still  _ believed _ in him. There had been fewer and fewer people with that kind of faith in him lately. Apparently thinking someone was crazy for a year built habits that were hard to break, even when it turned out he was  _ right _ . 

Hopefully they’d get over it. If not, Tim had gotten pretty good at working with minimal help. He just wished he wouldn’t have to. 

But that was okay. Tim had a talent for making the best of his circumstances, and he could work with this. 

The night was cold, but pretty standard for Gotham in November. If there was one thing to be thankful for with the cowl, it was how it did an excellent job of keeping his ears warm. Dumb as it looked, maybe B was on to something. 

After considering where everyone else would be spending the night, Tim had settled into his normal territory around Chinatown and along the edges of Crime Alley. If he got too close he’d risk running into the Red Hood, and then the aforementioned ass-kicking would begin. 

The rhythm of crime fighting was comfortable. Swing, perch, wait-wait-wait, drop, punch, duck kick, kick, elbow, zip ties. Then back to swinging to do it all over again.

All in all, this was a pretty good night. Until a flicker of black and blue in his peripheral vision started tailing him. 

Tim had pretty specifically been avoiding thinking about Dick as much as possible for the last few weeks. For the last year, really. No need to open that can of carnivorous worms. 

But with Nightwing sliding in and out of his awareness that ache refused to be silent. Tim was trying not to be bitter about how things had gone down between them, but that didn’t mean it was easy to forgive. He wasn’t sure that he even should. Tim wanted his brother back, but he was no longer certain they’d ever truly been brothers. Maybe he had just been convenient, someone to mentor and take care of in the wake of Jason. Dick was a social creature, maybe all those nights, movies and fistfights, were just because he needed someone and Tim came when called. 

He didn’t want to find out.

Apparently Dick wanted to tell him, though, given the way he refused to be shaken for hours on end. Which not only filled Tim with dread, but was also a bit of a blow to his ego. Seemed like he hadn’t gotten as good at disappearing as he had thought. Something else to work on.

In the end, after hours of running over and through buildings, of ending fights with an efficient brutality that he once would have cringed at but got him in and out in less than a minute, Red Robin planted himself on a rooftop in the Bowery, letting his cape fall closed around his shoulders to shelter him from the wind. If Dick wouldn’t leave him alone until they talked then fine. They’d talk. 

Nightwing made no sound as he landed, but that didn’t matter. Red would know that shift in the air drugged and out of his head with blood loss. 

“Nightwing. Do you need something?”

“Yeah, actually. Why are you avoiding me? Robin’s with B tonight so I figured we could patrol together, but all night you’ve refused to get within twenty feet of me,” Nightwing’s voice was calm, but his arms were crossed and his stance deceptively casual.

Red stared at him, white meeting white, and waited. This wasn’t a question he needed to answer. If Dick didn’t know, that was proof enough Red had never been anything more than accessible.

Nightwing rolled from one foot to the other. “Is this still about Robin? He’s gotten better, and I thought you knew that. I thought you were okay with what we had to do to get him there.”

More silence. This time because if Tim spoke he had no idea what would come out.

“Red. Everything about that situation sucked, and I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you, but what was I supposed to do? You’ve always been able to take care of yourself, and I couldn’t let B’s son go back to the League.”

Tim’s mouth was open before he knew what he was going to say. “I heard once everything before the word ‘but’ is bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“‘What were you supposed to do’? You were supposed to talk to me, Dick! I’d been talking to you about my grief for months, and how it felt like I was losing my entire world, and what did you do with that information? Decided I was fine and took what little I had left, apparently!” Tim was all but snarling, and it didn’t matter. Dick thought he was fine? After all of their conversations, and all that vulnerability, Dick had never bothered to read between the lines to see what Tim had really been trying to say. 

Dick looked stunned for a second, before anger overtook it. “You still had me! I told you, we’re equals and I couldn’t be your mentor. We did the Batman and Robin thing during that mess with Jean-Paul Valley, and don’t pretend it sat right with you, because it sure as hell didn’t with me.”

“Did I? Did I still have you? Because from where I stand, it looks like you decided to prioritize the kid who didn’t respect our rules, the kid who had tried to kill me, who still does sometimes and has  _ to this day not apologized for it _ , over me. He belittles and insults me, and every time you ignore it or lecture me for not just rolling over and taking his shit,” Tim spat. “And glad to hear you found working with me  _ uncomfortable _ because you had a fucking cape on. I was more worried about him killing someone than a costume choice. Batman is Robin’s partner, not his damn babysitter. I would have thought you of all people would get that.”

An aborted step forward, coiled and tense, Dick’s fists were clenched. “Of course you had me, you always will. And so will Damian. That’s what  _ family  _ means, though I know you certainly don’t have much experience with that.” Tim’s lip curled off his teeth. “Damian doesn’t apologize for anything, but he’s working on it. You can’t keep holding him responsible for what he did when he didn’t know better. You’re supposed to be the adult here. He’s a  _ kid _ .”

“ _ And so was I! _ ” 

Dick froze, still wound tight, at the thickness in Tim’s voice.

Tim turned away. “You can’t have it both ways. Either I’m old enough to deserve respect and full disclosure instead of being fired out of the blue, or I’m a teenager who needed what family I had left after the latest in a long line of tragedies. Not that that’s your problem anymore.” An empty laugh and hands spread in a hollow flourish. “After all, I’m legally emancipated. Now Damian is the only one of us that’s Bruce’s son in writing, as well as in your head.”

“What? What do you mean you’re emancipated?” Dick looked pale and a little like he’d lost his handle on this conversation.

A grin, all bared teeth and spite. “How do you think I was able to work around Ra’s takeover of WE? Legal emancipation and confirming ‘Bruce’ to be unsound of mind gave me control over company assets. I kept the last name for PR reasons.”

Dick was stricken. “Oh Tim, no-”

“But let’s go back to your  _ darling _ little brother. When exactly do you think is the last time he tried to kill me?” Tim wasn’t sure he could stop the vitriol spilling from his lips even if he wanted to. He didn’t want to.

“It would have been just before the battle for the cowl, right?” Even as he said it, Dick seemed to know it wasn’t the right answer.

“Nope." Tim popped the 'p.' "You know when he got so offended over me keeping tabs on him? He retaliated by cutting my jumpline. As if that was supposed to prove me  _ wrong _ for not trusting him. Tell me, was he supposed to ‘know better’ by then, or is that still on me for not being mature and understanding enough?”

Dick tried to close the distance between them, peeling his mask off and dropping it to the rooftop, but Tim slid just out of reach. “ _ Tim _ . Tim I didn’t know that, I swear I had no idea. You know I wouldn’t let that go, don’t you?”

“No, I really don’t. You’ve let everything else to do with Damian go, why not that too? Hell, I feel like we barely know each other anymore. Just tell me one thing, Dick,” Tim settled his weight again, ready to fly. The desperation on Dick’s face told him he might need to. “When the dead were rising, and you asked me to come to Gotham, I was here. If, at any point in the last year, I had called you for help, would you have even answered? Or would Damian have come first?”

Tim didn’t think he could have stopped Dick faster if he had punched him in the face. 

It didn’t last. Dick dove forward and this time refused to be evaded. He caught Tim’s wrist and dropped to his knees. “ _ No _ . Tim, Tim no, you have it all wrong. I would have come, I swear to god if you had asked for anything at all, I would have been there. You’re my brother and I love you, and I’m sorry I ever made you doubt that,” his voice was choked and wet, and his grip was a plea, but that wasn’t what made Tim believe him. 

“For the last few months, I’ve been listening to every scrap of gossip with your name attached, trying to keep track of you. I didn’t go after you because things in Gotham were so hectic and I was trying to give you the space I wanted when I was seventeen, but I was drowning and I forgot the most important thing,” Dick bowed his head, speaking into Tim’s palm. “I forgot what that would mean to you. You’ve had enough independence to last a lifetime. It wasn’t freedom; it was isolation, and I did that to you.

“Tim I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I made you think that, and I’m sorry others took my actions as a reason to turn their backs on you. I never thought you were crazy, and I never wanted you to stay away from Gotham,” Dick looked back up, expression naked in sorrow. “Little brother, I’ve missed you so much.”

There was cold air on Tim’s cheeks and gravel beneath his knees before he even knew he had moved. Tim met Dick’s gaze, blue to blue, and rolled his wrist to catch Dick’s hand. “You hurt me. I trusted you, and you left me hanging. I was furious and grieving, and it was your call that made me handle that alone. I’m still angry.”

There was silence, heavy with guilt and peeling scabs. 

Tim tugged Dick’s arm and leaned forward to wrap his free arm around his neck. “I don’t know if I forgive you yet. But if you want to talk, I’ve got some questions about how your year went. I’m willing to answer some about mine.”

For a second, neither of them moved. Dick’s free arm came up, slowly at first like he was trying not to startle, then lightning fast like he was afraid Tim would change his mind. Another slide of hands and their fingers threaded together. 

Face buried in Dick’s neck, Tim took a moment to breathe and tamp down the shaking. A couple of moments. “I missed you too, big brother.”

**Author's Note:**

> This sure came out fast and a very emphatic thank you to @replacementrobin on discord for that. We've been bouncing ideas off each other for days and that is 100% why I had the motive to get this done so quickly. 
> 
> Though all of the wonderful comments definitely helped as well c: 
> 
> Might change my mind and put this in a series with Bird is the Word, but for now it will be a lone pillar in the night. And the title is actually original this time!
> 
> Edit: Tweaked some stuff that bothered me on a re-read, don't mind me.


End file.
